The markets of a city will show its true color. From the Dongdaemun market that welcomes wholesalers looking for clothing and silk, to the Namdaemun market that attracts locals and foreigners to its a mishmash of goods, Seoul markets reflect the city's vibrant, fast-paced life. There is a sense walking around this city that you could buy practically anything here. So we thought we would try.

Besides Samsung and LG, Seoul is also known, surprisingly, for its triple-A quality luxury knock-offs. I had no purchase intention, but I had to see this underground market for myself. A friend and I took a bus to the Itaewon shopping district where tourists flock to buy "super-fakes" -- the Kobe beef of imitation purses, shoes, watches and wallets. So perfected are these copies, that even the manufacturers themselves cannot tell them apart. As one story goes, a woman once bought a "super-fake" Chanel bag at Itaewon in Seoul. A few months later, when in Paris, the strap of her bag broke. With a step of courage, she marched into a Chanel store and demanded a replacement. Five minutes later, she had a real Chanel gold-trimmed, leather bag hanging from her shoulder.

He had his eyes on us as we alighted from the bus. "Purses?" the man asked quietly as my friend and I walked by. Once we admitted our true intentions to him, the man -- I'll call him Kyu -- led us down a narrow staircase to a room deep beneath Itaewon's facade of custom tailor shops and luggage stores. Once inside the room, the mood of business didn't lighten. Soon, the Louis Vuitton website lit up the computer screen and thick, colour catalogs with pages and pages of designer bags were strewn across the table. Kyu assured us that his bags were not of the cheap Chinese variety -- they were actually manufactured in Korea to exacting standards. He fetched a few from his warehouse for us to examine.

Sure enough, I could not tell the difference. While I had seen fake Louis Vuitton bags in Thailand before, these had fine quality leather and neat stitching. The "LOUIS VUITTON - Made in Paris" stamp on the inside was accurate. Kyu even pointed out an authentic-looking numerical code stamped inside the bag. The Chinese versions of these bags were selling for 50-60,000 won (about $US65) while the Korean copy sold for upwards of 150,000 won ($US165). That's a lot of money to pay for an imitation, but imagine that a real Louis Vuitton purse would cost upwards of $US800.

We left Kyu's lair, our curiousity peaked, to continue our adventure through Itaewon. Along the way we encountered back-alley dealers and glossy underground showrooms adorned in wood-paneled shelves and professional lighting. In one store, the owner motioned us to follow him as he stepped through a display of men's suits into a hidden room. It was the "Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" meets "Anne Frank" meets "The Devil Wears Prada."

The European Union continues to complain vigorously to the Korean government to crack down on the illicit trade. But, apparently, to no avail. While we bought no Louis Vuittons or Pradas that day, the experience was rich enough for these stories we could tell. Has Seoul lost its soul?